Soaking in the Sun
by Rachla2o5
Summary: Introvert Lailey has glided through Hogwarts in a daze of intertangingly nothingness. Through a series of events the Marauders make it there mission to show Lailey the wonders of living life in the moment and how to soak in the sun!
1. Chapter 1

Lailey Evergrove stared lazily out the window as the gorgeous green hills and magnificent blue sky blurred past. The wind from the open window caressed her face and blew back her long golden curls. Her self-centered kitten, Puck, groomed himself in her lap. She had curled her legs under her thighs, something she now regretted as her legs stuck uncomfortably to the seat. She wore her best white sundress with a pair of silver flats that now sat empty on the floor.

Lailey allowed her eyes to close as she listened to the screech of the train's wheels on the metal tracks and the occasional bustle from outside her small compartment—Clariette, her best friend, had kept the door open when she left declaring her boredom.

It wasn't long before Lailey began to doze off. Puck remained on her lap, curling into a ball, and purring until he, too, had fallen asleep.

The past five years of Lailey's life was little more than a blur of homework, eating, sleeping, and pouring over her favorite play, A Midsummer's Night Dream. She had never wanted to stand out. She just wanted to get through Hogwarts without the drama and agony her mother always moaned over. Her mother had been at the top of Hogwarts social hierarchy, or so she always said. Because of this, all her mother did now was lay around the house in a depression and complained about her past. Lailey had always chalked up her mother's depression to her Hogwarts days at least, despite her father's assurances of otherwise as he always failed to provide a better reason.

Lailey had always wondered why her dad remained with her mother when taking his daughter and leaving was very palpable. Harboring on that thought made her bitter though.

Clariette stumbled back into the compartment nearly an hour later, Lailey had done little more than stretch her feet out. Jumping on her toes, she shut the door quickly and turned to Lailey with a proud smile as she twirled a wand that was definitely not hers in her hand.

"To whom, might I ask, does that belong to?" Lailey set her big green eyes on her friend. Taking in her friend's chaotic state, she shook her head. Clariette's previously pin straight and neat chocolate hair was now dislocated and small strands sat of their own accord. Her blouse and jeans were rumpled.

"Oh you, know, just a mister….Sirius Black?" Clariette's grinned mischievously and her eyes flashed with humor.

Lailey gasped, "How did you get _Sirius Black's_ wand?"

Clariette winked, "Through his greatest weakness of course! He keeps his wand in his back pocket; it wasn't nearly as hard as him to reach." Clariette shook her head, "Although escaping proved to be greatly difficult, I managed…I'm sure he'll realise the absence of his wand soon enough…as soon as his _other_ wand—"

"EW! Clara stop! That's disgusting!" Lailey squealed and covered her ears.

The door slid open and Remus Lupin stood there, with his arms behind his back and attempting to look formal. "I have come on behalf of one Sirius Black to retrieve his stolen, uh…wand." His voice shook with controlled laughter.

"If Sirius wants this," she twirled the wand around her fingers, "He'll half to come get it _himself_."

Remus cleared his throat, "As you very well know he is a bit…indisposed at the moment…"

"Oh Clara how far did you go with him! Sirius not coming to reap his own revenge, unheard of!"

Clariette fought away a smile "The only information that needs to be disclosed is that I had to take a bit of a drastic measure to get away…wouldn't you agree, Remus?"

But he wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Lailey and taking her in, his pretense of formality was completely dropped, along with the rest of the talk of Sirius.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met." Remus stepped forward and held a hand out toward Lailey, "Remus John Lupin, Gryffindor."

Lailey met his hand, "Lailey Evergreen, Ravenclaw."

"Lailey, what a gorgeous name." Remus put on a charming smile, "I would love to get to know you better maybe we could study in the library…."

"Alright that's enough," Clariette stepped in front of Remus and began pushing him out the door, "Lailey is very shy and not interested, goodbye."

"Hey—she doesn't seem shy to me,"

"That's because I'm here. She would be terribly uncomfortable in the library alone with you, especially once you try feeling her up!"

"I wouldn't try feeling her up!" Remus laid a hand over his heart and mocked hurt.

"I'm sure Abigail Dew and Tracy Hargrove would completely disagree." Clara placed her hands on her hips, "I will not have my best friend played by a marauder. Now, if Sirius wishes to have his wand back, tell him he has to come and get it himself, in person. No exceptions." With a flourish she shut the door and sat across from Lailey.

"What a day, Lace, I think I'm going to take a nap."

Not one person caught sight of Sirius the rest of the train ride, except, of course, the other Marauders.

Clara and Lailey strolled arm-in-arm into the great hall among the crowd of second to seventh years. Everyone sounded excited for the new school year. A group of third years giggled obnoxiously as they pushed hurriedly past. Second year's galloped excitedly into the Great Hall, as it was their first year coming back. Lailey wondered several times if she had looked like that when she was that age, she shuddered to think so.

"We are going to sit at your table so it will be harder for Sirius to find me." Clara informed her best friend.

They sat next to a group of studious seventh years who sat silently due to a lack of school work to discuss because Lailey's fellow sixth years were rather annoying and rarely spoke of anything but gossip and school and Clara found anyone younger than two years to be quite tedious.

Clara scanned the crowd smugly for the marauders, wondering if Sirius managed to pull himself back together in time for the feast. She kept her eyes fixed on the marauders claimed spot at the end far from the teachers table. To her pleasure, they did not come in with the large throng of students.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" McGonagall boomed, "let's start with the first year's sorting before the beginning of the year feast."

People clapped politely but the new first years were largely ignored, especially by the second years as reminders of the horror of being on stage and new were still fresh in their minds. Only when their house was called did people cheer and pay attention until the sorted student sat.

That year there was:

11 new Gryffindor's

10 new Slytherin's

12 new Hufflepuff's

8 new Ravenclaw's

When the food finally appeared, everyone cheered, even the new muggle-borns. Through all that, Clara noted the marauders were absent the entire time. satisfied, Clara turned to Lailey.

"Tonight I think you should sleep in the Gryffindor tower."

"Why?" Lailey scrunched her face up, "Afraid Sirius is going to have his revenge in the middle of the night?"

Clara sniffed and turned up her nose, "No, I just think we need to have a girl's night to catch up over the lost time during the summer. I haven't seen you in two months and I want to know every moment I missed."

Lailey snorted "trust me you didn't miss much."

Clara opened her mouth to reply but her words were lost when the door burst open in a flare of angry red sparks and a beyond angry Sirius Orion Black stalked into the room and silence choked the air.

Everyone shrank under Sirius's accusing and determined gaze as he searched the Gryffindor table for a certain someone. Not seeing what he wanted he went to the next table, Hufflepuff, and finally at Ravenclaw. He didn't even consider she would be at Slytherin.

With his left fist clenched tightly and his right tightening around a wand, that clearly wasn't his, as his lay in front of Clara's dinner plate, he stomped his way toward his intended victim.

The rest of the marauders stumbled in at that moment, all looking rather alarmed at Sirius. They seemed horrified as he got closer to Clariette, but they didn't attempt to stop him either.

Sirius bent over Clariette to speak into her ear. He sneered, "No one makes a fool of Sirius Black. I wouldn't get too comfortable, expect payback." He snatched his wand back and angrily joined his friends. Lailey's big doe eyes didn't leave his back until he was seated, facing them. Her heart hammered with fear for her friend, she had never seen Sirius Black angry.

Clara gulped and tore her eyes away from Sirius's seething glare, "On second thought, let's do girls night in your common room…"

She stabbed at her food with a shaky hand


	2. Chapter 2

Lailey pounded down the steps from the girls dorm into the Ravenclaw common room. The afternoon light glinted lazily through the window, providing some light to the darkened room. The Blue couches and dark carpeting added to the rooms dark appearance. Bookcases, filled with a copious amount of genres, lined the walls of the room. A cozy fire place claimed one wall, and to Lailey, the room was perfect.

It was a few days into term and Lailey was appreciating her decision to keep her afternoon free of classes. She was able to relax or complete homework as she pleased.

Today, however, she had managed to get dragged into a scheme that would only lead to more trouble.

"Shhh….." Clara put her finger to her lips and gestured for Lailey to hurry up. "Your so loud, this is supposed to be a _secret_."

"Clara, we haven't even left the common room!" Laily humphed indignantly

"Theres no harm in practicing."

"Can you at the very least come out from behind the couch."

Clara rolled her eyes as she peeked out from the side of the couch and began to crawl toward the door, before deciding to stand. "Okay. Lets go, have you got the stuff?"

Lailey lazily held up a dark velvet bag stuffed full. "Zonko's best...do you really expect the marauders to fall for any of this?"

"Of course not!" Clara snorted, "There just the distraction."

"...Clara what exactly are you planning?"

"Nothing...just trust me. And throw a dungbomb at Remus while he's on his way to the library."

"Me!?" Lailey gaped like a fish and shook her head furiously. Clara crossed the room and grabbed her friends shoulders gently.

"Breath. Please," She stuck out her bottom lip and made her eyes go wide, "For me?"

Lailey took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, "Okay...what will you be doing?"

"I'll be collecting information of course!" Clara grinned mischievously, her plot weaving itself together in her mind. "Now, shoo," Clara roughly pushed Lailey in the direction of the exit. "Remus is probably halfway to the library by now."

Grumbling inwardly, Lailey shoved open the portrait and stalked out of the room. With her arms crossed, and holding onto the velvet bag, she didn't bother to be sneaky as she made her way to the library.

"Hey! You!"

Lailey halted her steps, and looked nervously behind her shoulder. Hoping she wasn't the one being addressed. She cursed herself silently, she had told Clara she wouldn't look suspicious, and she definitely did.

James Potter strolled calmly toward her, an arrogant smirk looking at home on his lips.

"What are you up to on this fine morning, Evergrove?"

"Me? Why-nothing. Going to the library, homework. Ravenclaw. Yeah." Lailey bit her lip. If the Zonko's bag she was throttling in her hands wasn't obvious enough, her stammering would be.

James grinned, instantly becoming aware that something was up, "You're Clare's best friend, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"That girl who pulled one over on Sirius, he will not let that one go, trust me."

"Clariette,"

" _Excuse me?_ "

"Her name. No one calls her Clare, she hates it, either Clara or Clariette." She averted her eyes to the ground. There was no way The James Potter was going to let her get away without a little hassle.

"What's that?" James tore the Zonkos bag from her hands, and pulled it open. "Ahh, the classics, what are you planning, Evergrove?" he wore a wicked grin on his face, as if he couldn't wait to run and tell Sirius.

Lailey shook her head furiously, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"James, don't torment the poor girl." Remus sighed coming up behind him, he clutched a stack of books and was headed toward the library.

"Oh, alright. It's not like a bunch of Zonko's pranks will harm us, anyhow." James tossed the bag back in Lailey's direction and turned to Remus. "Don't forget about tonight."

"Wouldn't dare." Remus muttered as his best friend turned back up the hall and left. "Lailey Evergrove, correct?"

Lailey nodded in response, she didn't bother to look up at him, she craddeld the Zonkos bag in her arms and Claras words from the train ran through head. _He's a player,_ she thought.

"Accompany me to the library?" without giving her a chance to respond he threw an arm around her shoulder and dragged up the hall to the grand open doors leading to shelves and shelves of books, and of course a librarian who would happily scowl at any student that entered.

Lailey was too scared to pull away, she allowed him to keep pulling her, as she held on to the bag as if it was her only source of protection.

"So, Evergrove, where's your friend."

She refused to reply in anyway once so ever, thats what she told herself at least. In actuality she couldn't find the words to speak. Her mouth felt like cotton.

"I've asked around about you, you know. Haven't come up with much. Not a lot of people know who you are." Remus paused to let her speak, but she remained silent, "Haven't you ever done anything risky?" nothing, "Ever skip class? Forget homework? Sneak out?"

Lailey turned her head up to the ceiling, admiring the stone arc of the castle.

Remus dipped his head down to her level and spoke softly in her ear, "I bet you're too afraid to even write in a book."

Lailey gasped, and forgetting her timidness, she looked Remus right in his eyes with a horrified expression. "Who would dare!?"

Remus grinned, as if victorious in something, "And she speaks," laughing to himself, "You know, I ought to show you what real fun is. Break some rules, yeah? How does tomorrow night sound?"

"I should get going," she twirled out of his grip and started for the other way.

"Meet me by the Great Hall just before curfew tomorrow night," he called down the hall after her. Lailey sped up, horrified by the entire situation.

"You've done great, kid." Lailey turned the corner. Clara stood there grinning, her arms crossed and her back against the wall.

"I didn't do anything." She grumbled, "James caught me and Remus manhandled me." She tossed the bag at Clara's feet and kept going.

"Oh, contraire," Clara stooped down to pick up the bag and followed after her friend, "You have done exactly what I wanted you to do. James will tell Sirius he caught you with a bag of novice pranks, so they will be expecting something small. Meanwhile, I have done some recruiting."

"Of course you have," Lailey shook her head. "where are you going with all this?"

"I am going to show the Marauders I can't be trifled with. That they can not run around doing whatever they please."

"Yeah whatever." Lailey huffed. "Who have you 'recruited' as you say."

"You will find out at a later date, now speaking of dates. You should go with Remus tomorrow night."

Lailey froze, and swerved to face her friend, "No way! I have heard the rumors! And what about what you said on the train?"

Clara waved her hand off, "Oh, forget that! Having one Marauder distracted for a while might be a good thing. All I need to do now if frame Peter for something so he's in detention for tomorrow, and I can face down James and Sirius, and the real fun can begin!"

"But-what if he…"

"If Remus tries something just kick him somewhere he'll regret and run. No harm done."

Lailey grit her teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

_Twinkle, twinkle little star..._

Lailey allowed the words to reverberate inside her head, trying to drown out all other thoughts. Thoughts of Remus, Clara, and yesterday in general.

 _Up above the world so bright_

"Like a diamond in the sky," she glanced around the dorm, making sure she was alone so no one would hear her sing.

The ravenclaw dorm rooms, much like the common room, had a propensity to be dark unless light was present. Located in the highest tower hogwarts has to offer, it was not hard to provide light for the small room. With the curtains drawn, as they were now, the navy blue comforters, that covered each of the four beds in the room, seemed to welcome the darkness. The only contrast being the bronze curtains that hung from each bed post, that could be opened and closed at the occupants desire. However it did not do much to combat the gloominess of the room.

Lailey was supposed to be meeting Remus in an hour, and she was hoping to chance out of it. She was counting on Clara being too impatient with the eagle statue and its riddles to get in, as well as any straying ravenclaws, not in the tower, being unwilling to allow her entrance.

The door slowly eased open, Lailey silently prayed it would not be her best friend. "Lailey?" The light seeping into the room from the open door allowed her to identify the girl as Bonnie Clearie, one of her dorm mates.

Bonnie was slight in stature, and in all manners very delicate. Her nose was small and her square rimmed glasses was constantly falling off. Her thin lips and careful voice was a perfect representation of her character. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, her skirt, and basically anything she could twirl around her narrow fingers. Especially her cropped blonde hair, that twisted outwards slightly, probably due to how much she played with it.

"Yeah?" Expecting some bad news, she implored her to continue.

"There is a boy downstairs asking for you." Bonnie squeaked and tugged at her hair, "A gryffindor...one of the marauders...Lupin!" Blushing deeply, she escaped back to the common room.

Why would Remus Lupin, a boy she had met barely two weeks ago, come all the way to the Ravenclaw Tower just to drag her on an adventure that could only lead to trouble?

At that moment, all Lailey wanted to do was snatch up Jennie Menlow's Nimbus 1001 and fly out the window. Instead she found herself pulling on an oversized Puddlemere United Quidditch sweatshirt over her white blouse and Ravenclaw tie as she ambled down the stairs.

Sure enough, Remus Lupin stood by the door, seemingly unaware of all the gawking girls. Lailey took her time walking to him and she stopped when she was at least a foot away from him.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned, "we were supposed to meet by the great hall in a half hour."

Remus smiled, but not just any smile. A smile that was definitely meant to charm her. It was cocky and confident, and yet sweet enough to make a girl fall for him. Behind Lailey's shoulder, she could hear the girls giggling and proclaiming their jealousy.

"We were," Remus agreed, "however, your friend Clara informed me you would not show up. So I came straight here." He gestured toward the opening that led to the hall, "Shall we,"

Indignant, but not wanting to be rude, she followed Remus out of the common room.

"Where are we going?" She huffed in annoyance.

"The forbidden forest."

Lailey stopped in her tracks, catching Remus off guard and leaving him confused.

"No." Remembering all the stories her mother use to tell about the forests vicious creatures, wild parties, and most of all the dark arts that had been practiced within. Although as far as she knew, parties were no longer a concern, and no one was practicing dark arts there, she still did not wish to go.

"What?"

"No!" She put her foot down. She may have came with Remus, but there was no way she was about to risk her life just to make him happy.

"There is nothing to be afraid of...I want you to see this beautiful clearing..."

"Absolutely not." She stated as she begun to turn back toward the tower.

"Wait!" Remus grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, "We can do something else..let's see..." He scratched at the back of his neck as he struggled to come up with something that would be within her comfort zone, yet still pushing her boundaries.

He snapped his fingers, "The kitchens! Maybe the forest was too daunting a task, but you can handle food, can't you?"

"The kitchens?" Lailey frowned, "Hogwarts has a...kitchen?"

"Of course!" Remus chuckled, "where else would the house elves cook all that food?"

"There are house elves here?"

"Did you think Filtch kept this giant castle clean all by himself? And surely you did not think the food just appeared at every meal. It is impossible to conjure food from nothing."

Lailey felt more than a little foolish. "I don't...wanna get in trouble." She said timidly.

Flashing her his best smile he replied with, "Relax, there's not technically a rule against visiting the the kitchens, they are just a badly kept secret." She wondered how many people knew about the kitchen, "Besides me and Sirius have eaten cake with Dumbledore on more than a few occasions there."

Lailey gaped, how could the marauders be that chummy with the headmaster, "What about being out after curfew? What if we get caught?"

"I am a prefect." Remus pointed at the badge on his chest, "You won't get in trouble because you're with me...Peter?"

The boy in question came lumbering down from the other side of the hallway. He was carrying a large, brass potion cauldron and headed in the direction of the dungeons.

"Remus," the pudgy boy grunted. Peter was short and wide, his face made up with a pointed nose, watery blue eyes, framed by many freckles.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked incredulously.

The poor boy sighed, "I have a detention with slughorn. I turned from my cauldron for just a few seconds and the next thing I know, it was bubbling over and there's an empty jar of doxy eggs on the floor by my desk."

"How did you manage that?" Lailey asked, regretting it the moment Peters face began to turn red and a vein in his forehead pulsed.

"I didn't!" He snapped, "I didn't even touch the eggs, they weren't in the potion. Worst yet, it was the last of his allotted supply for the year so I got in even more trouble. I was framed!"

"That's tough luck, Peter." Remus patted his friends back, making him nearly buckle with the weight of the cauldron.

"I have to get back." He muttered and continued on his way, leaving the two to be once again alone in the wide expanse of hogwarts hallways.

"That was weird," Remus muttered, "come on its right down the hall." He gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her toward a huge portrait of a fruit bowl. "Tickle the pear, please."

"Tickle the pear?" Lailey questioned, raising her finger self consciously.

"Yes, tickle the pear." Remus's face was straight, with no sign of humor or a joke.

Timidly, she placed her pointer finger on the painted pair and began to...tickle it with a grimace on her face.

"Hehehe!" The pair squirmed and giggled beneath her finger. She shrieked and twisted away from the portrait, falling back into Remus's chest, who chuckled softly in amusement.

"There is nothing to be afraid of." He was grinning as he reached for the door handle the still laughing pear had produced. Behind the painting, was a giant tunnel leading down to where she assumed would be the kitchens. "Lady's first," he gestured toward the opening.

With only a seconds hesitation as Lailey garnered her strength, she climbed down into the dark tunnel, trusting Remus that it would lead to the kitchens like he said and not to a spiders cave or something of the sort.

"Master Lupin brought a friend!"

At least a dozen little house elves circled around the pair, all wearing little more than a cloth around their tiny bodies, and all trying to get Remus', attention. Besides the house elves circling them, there were even more tending to the many ovens. Others were carrying trays of food, and still more preparing what would probably become tomorrow's breakfast.

Lailey was stunned. She hadn't expected hundreds of house elves just below the castle to be working hard to serve the students a fresh meal every day. She was instantly humbled. Unsure that she would be able to look at her dinner the same ever again.

Remus on the other hand was completely at ease, talking with the house elves and asking questions about their lives. He even referred to a few by names Lailey could not repeat.

Soon Remus was pulling her along, toward a group of four long tables, not unlike the four in the Great Hall, each representing the four houses of Hogwarts.

"Welcome to the kitchens." Remus grinned, helping her onto a stool before moving around to sit across from her, "what do you think?"

"It's..." Lailey scanned the room as she racked her brain for a word to describe this experience,"busy. Are you sure we should be bothering them? I feel like we're adding unnecessary stress for them."

A female house elf brought over a dish of pizza, and two glasses of butterbeer, excitedly handing it all to Remus, "Enjoy!" She exclaimed happily before rushing back to work.

"Thank you Twinkle!" Remus called after her. He pushed a glass of butterbeer toward Lailey and offered her a slice of pizza, "I'm trying to take you on a nice first date," he winked, "please, just enjoy."

Lailey shifted uncomfortably and nearly choked on a bite of pizza, she shook her head furiously."I did not agree to a date," her cheeks were flaming.

Remus leaned back in his chair and studied the girl before him. Her loose blond curls, her abnormally dark blue eyes. All of it intrigued him for an unexplainable reason. He wanted to impress this strange girl, and he wanted her to think highly of him.

Lailey, however was much too flustered with the situation. If she let herself consider this a date, what would that mean for her new relationship with Remus? She did not want romantic feelings forming for him, or anyone for that matter.

But as far as first dates, she could not complain. The gorgeous guy who sat in front of her, everything from his dark brown, styled hair, his melted chocolate eyes, very captivating, his cool easy half smile and only slightly crooked nose-which somehow added to his charm and easy good looks-was perfect.

"I've never been on a date before..." Lailey sheepishly found herself admitting.

Remus found this quite amusing, "really? A girl as beautiful as yourself?" Lailey blushed, Remus could really turn on the charm when he wanted too.

 _Bang! "FUCK!"_

 _"STOP,"_

Lailey hurriedly jumped to her feet, the pizza came crashing to the floor.

Remus looked startled, but had barely moved.

"Mister Lupin!" The same house elf who had brought them the food appeared by their legs, "students are dueling up stairs!"

"Shit!" Remus gave Lailey an apologetic look,"I'm so sorry, as prefect I have to stop it. I will make it up to you, I promise."

He sprinted away, back they way they had come. Lailey only stood in shock for a moment, before making the decision to find out what was happening. She started off, running after Remus and not giving a second thought to what she was running towards.

"Sirius!" Remus discovered the unexpected outside the kitchens. His best friends, James Potter and Sirius Black stood on one side of the corridor. They had their wands pointed and were prepared to send a hex in a moments notice.

On the other side of their fury, was Lailey's best and only friend, Clara, standing in a similar position as his friends.

"What's going on?"

James pointed to the dark haired girl, "We found her sneaking around our dorm."

"And then you guys attacked me!" Clara put in, anger and loathing filling the room. Each member of the party were on edge, waiting for something big to happen.

"You're insane!" Sirius seethed, "you think you can humiliate me, a Marauder, then try to prank James and me?" He snorted unattractively. Flicking his wand, Sirius sent a nonverbal spelling, intended to do who knows what, at the offender in question.

Moving quickly, Clara immediately jumped into action screaming " _protego"_ and conjuring a shield around her. Sirius' curse bounced harmlessly off the Clara's wall of protection and headed back in the marauders direction. Sirius and James were able dodge with ease. The suit of armor it hit, however, was not so lucky as it immediately fell apart.

As if that was not bad enough, the spell continued to wreak havoc as it thus moved in Remus' direction, who was still standing by the stairs leading down to the kitchens.

In which Lailey was just coming up.

Not knowing anyone was behind him, Remus threw his body to the side and to safety. Lailey, completely oblivious to the duel ensuing, was caught off guard as the spell hit her squarely in the chest.

Terror filled Lailey completely in the moments before then hex did its job, and she stumbled back down the stair where the house elves would be startled and tear into a frenzy by the unconscious girl lying before them.

It took only a split second for the remaining group to realise what they did. James immediately took off to get the aid of Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. Sirius took a moment to freak out and be wracked with guilt at what his spell had caused before running after his friend.

Clara, with tears in her eyes, and Remus bounded into action and tore down the stairs. Remus taking two at a time, Clara barely controlling her emotions.

Lailey getting hurt was definitely not the intention of anyone that night.


	4. Chapter 4

The early morning light was almost unbearable , and Lailey was not use to so much sun streaming through the blinds.

Then she felt the thin, uncomfortable cot she was stretched out out, along with the heavy cotton blanket draped around her.

Voices came from every angle, each one was muffled and unintelligible to Lailey in her current state. She could not for the life of her figure out where she was, it was all so unfamiliar. Struggling to peel open her eyes, she was only able to manage for a brief second before light, brighter than before, assaulted her head and sent her in a frenzy of new pain.

She could only assume she was lying in the hospital wing, the uncomfortable bed and unnatural lighting her first clue. The fact that her chest, head, and right arm sent sharp pains through her body every other second was her final clue.

Lailey had never been a patient in the hospital wing in all her previous Hogwarts years. She had only really been inside all of two times, and each was to visit Clara when she had had a broken bone or two.

Deciding sleep was a better option at this point, as she could not move, or open her eyes let alone concentrate on one of the many voices filling her ears, she drifted off into an uneasy dream.

 _A younger Lailey, by several years, stood at the top of a wooden staircase, anxiety filling her small frame. The whole house was dark, her father was away at work._

 _To the right of the steps, on the first floor, the tvs awful blue glow gave the hallway an unnatural, uneasy feeling. Where the living rooms green carpet met the halls boarded floors, was a zone Lailey feared to go past. Inside her mother would be lying on the couch, almost corpse like._

 _She took the first step...the second...the third and so on until she found herself standing at the bottom with no more stairs left._

 _The only thing to do was creep slowly toward the archway, leading into the living room..._

 _And fear clutched at her chest. Lailey could hardly stand the sight of her mother, but for some unexplainable reason, some unnamed force pulled the young girl forward, imploring her to lean around the frame and look inside._

 _Right where she always was, her mother lay unmoving on the couch. Asleep, breathing slowly. Lailey's mother, Mara Evergrove, was merely a husk of a person. Muttering in her sleep about dark curses and evil magic. It made Lailey shutter. At least when her father was home her mother seemed more sane. She could sit up and eat, but would do little more than stare at her husband with proud adoration. Lailey resented her mother for never even acknowledging her existence._

 _A hand fell out from the blankets, thin and frail, reaching for the door, "Lailey..."_

 _Lailey shrieked, wasting no time running back up the stairs._

In her sleep, Lailey whimpered and cried out. Clara sighed, stroking her best friends hair sadly. She couldn't stand to see Lailey like that.

It had been four days since Lailey had first been admitted to the hospital wing. For the first two days, all of the marauders and Clara hardly left her bedside, filled with regret and hoping she would wake soon.

The last two days the healer Madam Pomfrey had thrown them out, sending for their head of house, Professor McGonagall, to escort them to class. At night though, Madam Pomfrey could not keep Clara away from her best friends side. Or Sirius Black, the reason Lailey was in here in the first place.

Sirius was wracked with pure guilt at the whole situation. But clearly not enough to keep from falling asleep in his chair and snoring loudly, Clara thought bitterly as she glared at the boy. In Sirius' defense though, he was definitely not taking this lightly. He would sit in silence staring at the floor, every now and then glancing hopefully up at the girl he had put in this four day coma. He would apologize profusely to Clara, begging her to tell him how he could make up for this. Although he would never admit it, he also would beg and plead with Lailey when they were alone, making many different promises if she would just wake up.

"You should be in your dorm" Pomfrey berated fruitlessly. Clara only collapsed into her own chair and dropped her head into her palm as the nurse went about checking Lailey, making sure nothing was seriously wrong, well nothing new that is.

"I just...I can't knowing she's here." Clara hadn't been such a good best friend the past few days, and she was desperate to make up for it.

The nurse, after finishing up with her patient, turned and gave Clara a sympathetic look while clasping her hands in front of her. "Your friend is going to be okay." Pomfrey assured,

"Then why won't she wake up?!" Clara couldn't help but accuse.

"Her body's tired." The nurse didn't hesitate, "trust me, she'll be herself in a day or two." With that the nurse left Clara alone with the two sleeping figures near by. Being sleep deprived herself, she settled into the chair and rested her eyes.

Lailey had been drifting in and out of consciousness for what seemed like ages. She still, however, did not have the strength to keep her eyes open without them falling shut due to exhaustion. At the very least she seemed to be becoming more and more aware of what was happening around her every time she woke up.

This time she could focus on the conversation, but couldn't quite match the voices to people.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it would hit her!" The voice was gruff, clearly of the opposite gender but most definitely on edge and shakier than it should have been.

"Right," a higher pitched voice seethed, "doesn't change the fact that...what was your stupid spell anyway?"

There was a slight pause.

"It was a stunning spell...I guess my anger must have amplified its effects...not to mention her falling down all those steps..."

There was a soft sigh, closer to Lailey, and the feminine pitched voice spoke once more, "I can't believe she got in the middle of this." A clammy hand grasped Lailey's fingers, "the whole reason I wanted her to be with Remus that night was so she wouldn't be there. I would never let Lailey near him otherwise.

The first voice snorted, "Remus would never hurt her..."

"He's been with tons of girls."

"You shouldn't believe every rumor...besides Remus is just a harmless flirt...never really had anything serious."

"Oh and you have?"

There was a greater silence than before. All that could be heard was a few birds chirping, along with a soft breeze. Lailey was pretty sure the window closest to her was open. The peacefulness was beginning to lull her back into a deep sleep.

"Sirius...maybe can we just be even? Y-you hurt my best friend after all."

"I didn't mean too!"

"I know! But don't you think we've caused enough harm fighting? We lost 50 points in muggle studies yesterday! You sorta owe Lailey as well...truce?"

"I really wish _this_ wasn't how my retaliation turned out...but you're right...truce."

This time there was crickets chirping nearby. The air smelled slightly muggy, as if it had just been raining for a prolonged period of time.

"Hurry! Bring him to a cot...his wounds look bad!" Madam Pomfrey rushed around the wing, gathering together supplies to be used to treat Remus Lupin.

The three boys, James, Sirius, and Peter, carried in their best mate and settled him into his usual cot. Pomfrey, coming back with everything she needed, pulled the curtain closed. The metal links connecting the fabric to the poles scrapped obnoxiously against each other, slicing into Lailey's dreams and tugging her closer to consciousness than she had been since her accident.

She opened her eyes long enough to see the marauders being shooed out from the curtains. They were filthy, mud soaked and dripping, a trail of sludge leading to the door and ending at their feet.

"Lailey?" Sirius looked over hopefully, and a little panicked.

Lailey lifted up a weak hand and wiggled her fingers before being dragged back into her dream world.

 _"Mummy and daddy are..._ Magic _?" Lailey asked incredulously. She was a only a few years older than the version of her that had stood at the top of the steps and looked down in fear at the living room._

 _She was now sitting in the living room in a comfy chair. The lights were on, which comforted her greatly, and her mother was a patient at St. Mungo's after having a seizure. He father was currently sitting at her mums bedside._

 _"Yes little darling, and so are you!" Her aunt, who was babysitting for the time being, squealed, "I know you are only seven, but pretty soon you will come into your magic!"_

 _"Magic..."_

 _"Yes! And once you turn eleven you will be off to Hogwarts, your parents attended that school you know..."_

 _"What is Hogwarts?" The girl asked anxiously, jumping in her seat._

 _Talking about "magic" seemed to excite Aunt Maryann very much._

 _"It's a school, for people just like us. They will teach you just about everything you'll need to know about magic! It's a magnificent castle...huge! With a lake full of mystery..."_

 _Lailey was absorbed in her aunts tales of witches and wizards, dragons and giant squids, and the days she had been a hufflepuff student at hogwarts._

 _"What was mummy?" Lailey questioned after her aunt told her all about the four houses and each of their values._

 _"Why, she was a Slytherin!" Lailey shuddered, "but you my brave dear," she touched Lailey's face gently and grinned brightly, "are bound to be a Gryffindor."_

Her aunt, as it turned out had been wrong. Lailey was not brave enough for Gryffindor. When she had finally gotten into hogwarts, it had been her dream ever since her aunt told her about it, and the hat finally dropped onto her head, it completely covered her face, it wasted no time shouting out " _Ravenclaw!"_ And reminding her of the hours and hours of time she had spent in her bedroom reading book after book of anything she could get her hands on.

Lailey groaned, no longer trapped by the heavy hand of groggy sleep. She felt freer than she had previously, and was even able to drag herself into a sitting position. She cradled her head, nurturing a small headache.

"Lailey?" A surprised voice, closer than she had expected, spoke "you're awake! Please tell me you feel alright."

Lailey looked up, startled to be met with piercing gray eyes staring at her with guilt. Sirius Black was certainly not in his normal state. His hair was almost as messy as James Potter, as if he had spent way too much time running his finger through it. Which was certainly not a habit Sirius regularly possessed. He seemed tired and resigned, he slouched slightly and seemed as though he had been worrying days on end.

"I'm fine." Lailey replied, and despite the aching from every point of her body, and the fact she was in quite a state, she meant it with all honesty.

Sirius seemed to relax visibly, settling back into his normal self, "thank god!" He cried, covering his face with his hands and sighing in relief.

"What um...what are you doing here?" Lailey questioned, she was confused to say the least. Her and Sirius had little to no contact in previous years.

Sirius looked as though he has swallowed something highly on pleasant, "it was...my spell that put you in here in the first place."

Lailey sat in stunned silence, the past few days falling on her all of the sudden. She remembered her "date" with Remus and even the odd moment she caught the marauders in, in what she assumed to be last night as the curtains were still pulled across the bed Remus had been placed in. She noticed the other marauders nearby, watching.

"Where's Clara?"

"James convinced her to sleep in her dorm last night," Sirius replied, "I imagine she's still there as classes don't start for another hour.

She looked down at her hands resting in her lap, they were shaking.

"Are you guys like friends now or something?"

"No!" Sirius replied defensively. "We put our problems aside to focus on yours."

"I don't have any problems?" Sirius gave her a pointed look, "oh..."

"So since this is our fault," he gestured to the other marauders, "is there anything we can do it make it up to you?"

Lailey could not think of anything that would make up for missing however many days of her life. "You don't have to do anything, you're just trying to absolve your guilt."

He didn't argue, "Still I almost killed you..." He did seem very apologetic, "I can't stand the thought of hurting someone so innocent, so can you just humor me?"

"Honestly," she sighed, "I have no idea."

James, from across the room, suddenly grinned as he stepped over to Lailey's bedside, "then I guess old Padfoot here," he smirked at his friend, "will just have to provide you with the best week of your life."

Lailey's eyes widened in horror. Having Sirius making sure she was happy wasn't the kind of attention she needed right now. Definitely more rumors than she could handle. "That's not necessary!" She was perfectly fine with going back to being unnoticed, spending all her free time perfecting her homework, keeping with prefect duties, and being, well, nothing special.

She was afraid that if she allowed herself to enjoy life too fully, or became too carefree with her life, she could become susceptible to awful things. If her mother wasn't proof enough, she just wasn't comfortable being in the limelight. She did not need attention from outsiders, and she most definitely did not want to be anything like her mother had been during her hogwarts years. Even for just a moment.

"No I think that's a perfect idea," Clara stood in the doorframe, she had come in unnoticed but certainly claimed attention now. She sauntered over to Sirius and grinned menacingly. "I think you should make it your responsibility to provide Lailey with as much fun as you can possibly manage within the next seven days."

Sirius glared, surely he was about to argue? "Fine." I consented, unwillingly, "From today until next Wednesday I will be completely at Lailey's service."

Lailey groaned, falling back into her bed. Five days she had been unconscious. She had missed the weekend, losing the time to complete the Friday homework. Along with the first two days of school this week. She would have far too much to catch up on, and now she doubted she would have much time to catch up with the marauders breathing down her back.


End file.
